Dubai—home to the future world's tallest building, artificial islands shaped like a palm tree, and a misplaced faith in the power of wealth—is broke. The government has asked its many creditors for a six-month reprieve from debt payments.

The terse statement came in the middle of negotiations between creditors and Dubai World, the corporate arm of Dubai, which has led many of its most ambitious real estate projects, but is now struggling under the burden of $59 billion in liabilities...

The decision to take such a step comes just weeks before Nakheel, the developer of Dubai's signature palm-shaped islands, was scheduled to make payment on its $3.52 billion of Islamic bonds. The conglomerate, which also owns Dubai's huge port operations and has taken stakes in glamorous overseas properties like Barneys and MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, has billions of dollars of payments due in the months that follow.

Whoops, Dubai, you're broke. Let's hope things don't get as bad as in broke-ass Iceland—at least you still have McDonald's.